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Making Bombers in Iraq

(Los Angeles Times)- Holy warriors from abroad and from insurgent strongholds such as the city of Fallouja have been enlisting young Iraqis for suicide bombings as well as guerrilla-style attacks, military intelligence officers say, probably working through mosques to identify zealots. Namir Awaad made his strike at the entrance to a U.S. base which occupies a former hospital complex run by the Iraqi military. He wrapped his head in white bandages, posing as one of the injured Iraqis who show up at the gate seeking treatment, advanced 300 yards to the Bradley fighting vehicle blocking the gate, and blew himself up, injuring a soldier. Yet the reaction in Awaad's village to his "martyrdom" differs markedly from the glorification prevalent in the Palestinian territories, where bombers are celebrated in posters plastering village walls.
2004-03-02 00:00:00
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